


Ginny Weasley and the Chamber of Secrets

by TartanGirl13



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, alternate POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 11:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10512720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TartanGirl13/pseuds/TartanGirl13
Summary: Pretty much what it says on the tin - Chamber of Secrets from Ginny's perspective.Also to a certain extent a defense of Ginny.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Some text is directly quoted from CoS but I tried to minimize the amount.

On the morning that Ginny Weasley finally met Harry Potter, she was woken by the familiar sounds of her mother’s rage. Ginny had heard her mother’s shouts often enough that she could interpret them, though muffled by distance and walls. Apparently the three youngest of her brothers had snuck out the previous night and taken her father’s car driving. Ginny was somehow rather unsurprised by this. She knew Fred and George frequently took the car out for night drives, although this was the first that she knew of that they had taken Ron, or been caught for that matter.

Still, she knew her mother – her anger never stopped her from ensuring her children were very well fed. Breakfast would be ready soon. Yawning, she rolled out of bed and headed down to the kitchen. And then stopped in her tracks.

Sitting at the table were three of her brothers and a boy with untidy black hair and brilliant green eyes. She squealed. It was Harry Potter. Then, mortified, she fled. What was Harry Potter doing in her house? Could she handle being in the same room without embarrassing herself? Clearly not, judging by what had just happened.

Ginny had had an embarrassingly large crush on Harry Potter ever since she was very small, when she had drunk in stories of the Boy Who Lived at her father’s knee. And now he was in her house! She had known that Ron was friends with Harry Potter, and had dreamed of meeting him, but now, faced with the reality, she didn’t think she could interact with him – not without putting her foot in her mouth or worse. What if he hated her? She would have to avoid him as much as possible, if only to save herself the shame.

Sometime later, Ginny heard her father’s arrival downstairs. Perhaps with him there, she wouldn’t embarrass herself in front of Harry Potter. Steeling herself, she started to open her door to head downstairs. She was met with the sight of very green eyes, and shut the door with a snap. She couldn’t do it.

********

The next few days passed in a blur for Ginny. She thought maybe she could block it from her memory if she tried hard enough. Every time she was in the presence of one Harry Potter – the one person she wanted above all else to think well of her – she became suddenly vastly more clumsy than she had ever been in her life. She knocked over countless items – and the less said about the butter dish incident the better.

Today, however, would be different. Today, they were going to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies, and for the first time, Ginny would be getting school supplies of her own. After eleven years of watching her brothers leave for Hogwarts without her, and this last miserable year when Ron had been gone as well and it had been only she and her mother in the house, Ginny Weasley would be starting at Hogwarts. Even Harry Potter’s presence wouldn’t make her ruin this.

********

She was wrong. It could.

Harry began by somehow getting off at the wrong floo and ended up in Knockturn Alley, something Ginny now wished she could try herself. Then there was Flourish and Blott’s.

Ginny was standing with her family in line for the book signing at Flourish and Blott’s, after an _exciting_ afternoon of secondhand shopping. Her mum, naturally, was eager to meet Gilderoy Lockhart. As she watched her mother sigh over the famous hero, Ginny wished she could say she didn’t understand how her mother felt. But then she turned, and caught sight of Harry pushing his way towards her with Ron and Hermione in tow. She understood her mother completely.

As they gradually moved forward in line and got closer to the great man himself, the crowd got thicker and more chaotic. Somewhere off to one side, Ginny heard her idiot brother Ron snapping at some kind of cameraman. Apparently this was all that was needed to catch the attention of the blinding handsome man signing books.

“It _can’t_ be Harry Potter?”

And with that, there went any hope of Harry’s being unnoticed. Ginny had noticed, from what little she had seen of Harry, that he seemed to prefer to avoid attention. She had wondered if it were just her mother’s smothering that he objected to, but now, watching him be dragged up to the front for photos and applause, she rather thought not.

Ginny turned her attention to Lockhart just in time to catch him saying, “…this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!”

Well. Her mother would be happy. Ginny supposed this explained the booklist as well. She was quickly distracted however, as Harry stumbled over to her, tipping the set of books Lockhart had given him into her cauldron. “You have these,” he mumbled. “”I’ll buy my own –“

But then a voice cut in. “Bet you love that, didn’t you, Potter?” She turned to see an pointed faced blond boy sneering at Harry. From her brothers’ descriptions, she knew who this was.

“ _Famous_ Harry Potter,” Draco Malfoy continued. “Can’t even go into a _bookshop_ without making the front page.” That was enough. Clearly Malfoy was just as much of a prick as her brother Ron had told her. Ginny’s temper flared.

“Leave him alone, he didn’t want all that!” Ginny said, glaring at the blond prat. She was so mad, she didn’t even realize that for the first time, she had actually spoken in Harry Potter’s presence.

“Potter, you’ve got yourself a _girlfriend_!” drawled Malfoy. Ginny blushed. How she wished that were true. As Ron and Hermione came over to join the verbal sparring (Ron quickly trying to make it physical sparring), Ginny, mortified, attempted to melt into the bookshelves behind her. Things rapidly devolved, with the arrival of both her father, and Malfoy’s. Funnily enough, it was the adults who devolved into brawling, the hypocrites. Her father and Mr. Malfoy were having a fistfight. In a bookstore. This was new.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending or your perspective), Hagrid quickly arrived to break up the fight. Ginny’s father had received a cut lip, while Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye with a book. Malfoy was holding one of Ginny’s books. He thrust it at her, taking the opportunity to insult her father one last time, then swept out of the store.

So much for a peaceful shopping trip. Still, there were a few silver linings, Ginny mused, later that day. She had spoken in front of Harry, a major breakthrough. Her parents had been able to afford all her school things, even if they were all second-hand. And, as she unpacked her new belongings, she found inside one of her books, a diary. Someone must have forgotten it, and their loss, Ginny’s gain. Perhaps her first year would be less dismal than she had begun to fear.

********

**20 August**

Dear Diary, my name is Ginny Weasley, and I’m eleven years old. That means I get to start Hogwarts. There’s less than two weeks to go and I can’t wait.

**_Hello Ginny Weasley. My name is Tom Riddle._ **

****

**_Ginny? Are you still there?_ **

Yes! I was just surprised! How can my diary be writing back to me?

**_Magic, my dear Ginny. I am here to be your friend._ **

Really? You’re going to keep writing back?

**_Of course! Now, what were you saying about starting Hogwarts?_ **

I start Hogwarts in less than two weeks! I’m really excited. Except I’m also really nervous. I have six older brothers, you see, so I know a lot about how difficult learning magic can be. Except it’s not so good, because they’re not always very nice, and because there’s so many of them, I only ever get second-hand stuff.

**_Magic’s not difficult for everyone, you know. If you study hard, it won’t be difficult for you to master magic very quickly. What are your brothers like?_ **

Well, there’s Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ron. Bill’s the oldest, and he’s my favorite brother. He used to spend lots of time with me when I was younger, and he never treated me like a baby. Only he’s gone now, he works as a Curse Breaker in Egypt so I don’t get to see him anymore.

Charlie is pretty cool, but he never really had as much time for me as Bill did. He would look after me, but he was more interested in spending time with people his own age, or with animals. He’s in Romania right now, working on a dragon reserve. We got to visit him last Christmas and see all the dragons and it was really fun.

Percy’s really boring. He’s in his sixth year at Hogwarts right now, and he’s a prefect, and he thinks the rules are super super important. More important than family sometimes. He’s kind of a stick in the mud.

Fred and George are twins. They pretty cool, but they’re also really annoying. They really like pranks, and since I’m the youngest I get pranked a lot. They also like to tease me a lot. I think it’s because I’m the only girl. Someday, when I get really good at magic, I’m going to show them who they’re messing with.

Ron’s my youngest brother. He used to be pretty cool, but then he started Hogwarts and now he never has any time for me anymore. He only ever hangs out with his friends Harry and Hermione. I wish Harry would be my friend too.

**_Wow, Ginny. You have a very interesting family. Don’t worry, when you get to Hogwarts, you’ll be able to show them just how special you are, too. Who is Harry?_ **

Oh! That’s Harry Potter! He’s amazing. He’s the Boy Who Lived. When he was just a baby, You-Know-Who came after him and killed his parents, but Harry survived! And he took down You-Know-Who as well. Everybody says that he’s a really big hero. From what I’ve seen though, I don’t think he wants to be called a hero because of that. I think he should be called a hero because of last year though. Ron doesn’t know that I know this, but last year, he and Harry and Hermione solved a mystery about a Philosopher’s Stone, and Harry faced You-Know-Who again! And won! He’s so brave. And he’s also really nice. He gave me a bunch of books because he said he could buy his own, he didn’t need someone to give them to him. He’s really handsome too! He has this ruffled jet black hair and beautiful green eyes and he has this scar on his forehead from when You-Know-Who tried to kill him, so you can never forget how much of a hero he is.

**_He sounds quite interesting, Ginny. You really like him, don’t you?_ **

I don’t know, maybe. He would never ever like me back though. He doesn’t notice me. He thinks of me as Ron’s little sister. It doesn’t help that I can never talk in front of him either.

I’ve got to go Tom, my mum is calling me for supper. You’ll still be here when I get back, right?

**_Of course I will. I’m not going anywhere._ **

********

**31 August**

Dear Tom, I’m so glad I have you. No one’s ever understood me like you before. I feel like I can tell you anything.

**_And you can._ **

I know.

I start Hogwarts tomorrow! Luna’s starting too, but she thinks we’ll be in different houses, so I don’t think I’ll get to see her very often. It makes me very sad, but I guess it’s not so bad, since I have you now.

**_Perhaps if you will end up in different houses, your personalities are not so well suited to friendship anyway. It could be for the better, Ginny. At least neither of you will be denying part of who you are. Where do you think you’ll end up?_ **

I don’t know! I hope Gryffindor. I have to make Gryffindor. If I don’t, my family will be so angry. Especially if I make Slytherin. They all hate Slytherins. Well, except for Fred and George so much. I didn’t think I would be Slytherin-like, but I’m even sneakier than Fred and George. It’s easy because no one ever suspects me of doing anything bad because I’m the youngest and a _girl_. And George told me secretly that the Sorting Hat considered putting him in Slytherin. What if I end up in Slytherin, Tom? They’ll all hate me!

**_I’m sure Slytherin isn’t as bad as your family thinks. After all, don’t many powerful people in government come from Slytherin? Perhaps your family doesn’t like them because your father is jealous that he hasn’t been promoted. If you get sorted into Slytherin, you could overcome your family’s reputation and be great of yourself._ **

If you say so, Tom. You might be right about my father though. I mean, he always says he doesn’t want to be promoted, but it’s because he never is that we’re so poor. Still, I don’t know if I could handle Slytherin. Besides, Harry’s in Gryffindor.

**_Ah yes, Harry Potter. You’re right, Ginny, it will be easier for you to get closer to him if you are in Gryffindor. You won’t know until tomorrow, though, where you’ll end._ **

You’re right again, Tom. You’re so smart. I’m so glad you’re my friend. I’m going to bed now. Good night!

********

**1 September**

Dear Tom, I got in to Gryffindor!! I did it!

**_Good job, Ginny. I knew you could do it._ **

It was so weird though. Harry and Ron missed the ceremony. And after, in the Common Room, I heard something about a flying car. My dad’s car can fly. Do you think they took it and flew to school? But why?

**_Perhaps they wanted to make a grand entrance. After all, doesn’t your brother feel insecure about standing out from his brothers._ **

Yeah, but I don’t think Harry would do something like that. He’s too good.

**_Perhaps your brother talked him into it. Young boys can be very mischievous, you know._ **

That’s true. That’s probably what happened.

********

**9 September**

Dear Tom, the first week of school has been so amazing. I’m so happy you’re here. I don’t know if I would have any friends if it weren’t for you. My brothers all avoid me. I think they think I’m too uncool to hang out with.

**_I will always be here for you Ginny._ **

Oh but Tom, the strangest thing happened last night. I got ready for bed, but then the next thing I knew, I was standing next to my bed in my nightgown only it must have been a few hours later, because my roommates were all asleep, and the moon was higher. And then, this morning, when I was changing, I noticed this weird green stain on my nightgown. Do you think I could have been sleepwalking?

**_Sometimes, stressful new environments can produce odd things like that. And since last night was Saturday, you had a release from the tension of the week. In such a situation, sleepwalking would not be unlikely._ **

Do you think it will cause any problems for me? I only just started, I don’t want to wreck things at Hogwarts this early.

**_I’m sure it won’t continue to be an issue, Ginny. After all, as you said, this was only the first week._ **

********

**15 October**

Dear Tom, I think I’m losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don’t know how they got there. Hagrid’s the only one here who has roosters, and I haven’t been to see him in over a week. What could have happened?

**_Perhaps, Ginny, there was a mix up with the House Elves. After all, you know they’re the ones who handle laundry. Perhaps a rooster somehow got loose in the laundry room and they didn’t clean up properly. Or maybe someone in Gryffindor has been practicing Tranfiguration in the dorms. Don’t jump to the worst possible scenario Ginny, think logically about this._ **

I don’t know what I would do without you, Tom. You’re right, of course I’m just being silly. It’s probably just some kind of mix up.

********

**1 November**

Dear Tom, I can’t remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I’ve got paint all down my front. There was a message left on the wall right next to the cat in the same color of paint. Mr. Filch was so sad about his cat. What if it was me, Tom? What if I’m losing my memory again?

**_Once again, Ginny, you’re failing to look at this logically. Why would you possibly want to attack the cat? It’s far more likely that it was someone with motivation. Doesn’t that cat go after rule-breakers? It was probably someone who likes to break rules a lot. And someone like that would want to divert suspicion, don’t you think? You probably just fell asleep in the library again._ **

********

**8 November**

Dear Tom, there was a Quidditch match today, and Gryffindor won! But Harry broke his arm when he was catching the Snitch. I think he would have been ok, except that Professor Lockhart tried to fix it, and ended up removing all the bones in his arm. Poor Harry has to stay in the hospital wing overnight. Colin says he’s going to try to sneak out and bring him something nice though! Ron’s really mad about it, but Hermione said that it’s probably not Lockhart’s fault. She said there could have been an enchantment of the Bludger that interfered with the healing. She’s normally really smart, but I think she’s being blinded by a pretty face right now. I don’t think Lockhart is as capable as he thinks he is.

**_Once again, Ginny, you show your skills of discernment. You are probably right. One has to wonder what Professor Dumbledore was thinking in hiring some one like that. Perhaps he is becoming as senile as some say he is._ **

********

**9 November**

Dear Tom, it’s awful. Colin’s been attacked, just like the cat. He’s in the hospital wing and I don’t know if he’s ok. What if it was me, Tom? I was the only one he told that he was sneaking out. What if it was me with Mrs. Norris and now Colin too?

**_Don’t be silly, Ginny. You’re very capable, but you’re a first year. How would you have attacked him? You were almost certainly fast asleep in bed, and someone happened to come across him creeping through the castle. As you know after last year’s incident, clearly Dumbledore can’t keep evil elements out of the castle very well. He is getting on in years._ **

Maybe. But I don’t like all of these coincidences, Tom. They’re getting to be really suspicious and I don’t like it.

********

**5 December**

Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I’m pale and I’m not myself. I think he suspects me… I suspect me. I’m so scared, Tom. I don’t want to be the one doing this.

**_I’m sure you’re not, Ginny. You’re probably pale because you’re so busy worrying that you are the culprit. Don’t be silly._ **

********

**17 December**

Dear Tom, the whole school is talking. Harry can speak Parseltongue, can you believe it? Everybody is saying he must be the Heir of Slytherin.

**_Are you sure, Ginny? How do you know?_ **

Professor Lockhart had his first dueling club meeting today, and apparently he and Snape picked Harry and Malfoy for a demonstration duel. Only Malfoy cheated and conjured a snake. Romilda said she heard that Harry started hissing at the snake and it sounded like he was trying to get it to attack a Muggle-born from Hufflepuff. Maybe he really is the Heir? I don’t want it to be. But if it’s him, it’s not me.

**_That’s very interesting. Perhaps Harry stole the ability when he defeated the Dark Lord. From what you have told me, Ginny, I doubt the noble Salazar Slytherin would accept some one as Gryffindor-ish as Harry Potter as his Heir. However, as I continue to tell you, Ginny, it’s extremely unlikely that you have anything to do with this._ **

********

**18 December**

Dear Tom, there was another attack today and I don’t know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I’m going mad…I think I’m the one attacking everyone, Tom!

**_Don’t panic, Ginny. You are not the one responsible for opening the Chamber of Secrets. Even if you were going mad, you would not be responsible for your actions. However, as I keep saying, you are not mad, nor are you the one attacking everyone. You must trust me on this, Ginny._ **

********

Ginny broke free with a gasp. She was standing in a bathroom, clutching her diary. Why was she here? She froze. She had been about to attack someone again. She knew it. Tom had been…very firm that it wasn’t her. Very very firm. But Tom was wrong. She felt the rage start to build. How dare he lie to her? _How dare he?_ She rushed forward. She would show him. She flushed the diary down the closest toilet, and stood there, panting. What had she done? She had abandoned her only friend! But. It felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders, like she was free of something she couldn’t remember. Maybe she didn’t need Tom. She could do Hogwarts on her own, be her own person.

********

The next few weeks were both easier and more difficult for Ginny. She had grown used to having Tom around, a friend who was always there, to whom she could tell anything. She missed him. On the other hand, she hadn’t had any more periods of missing memory and no attacks either. She wasn’t sure why that was. Maybe writing in a diary had made her emotions surface. Maybe talking to someone was the trigger. Well then. She would just have to avoid getting close to people then, wouldn’t she? If that was the trigger, she wouldn’t go mad anymore. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She wouldn’t hurt people any more.

*********

After weeks with no missing memories, and no attacks, Ginny was starting to feel giddy. She was free. She even found the confidence, on Valentine’s Day, to send a Valentine to the boy she loved. He might never love her back, but she wanted him to know that there was at least one more person outside of Ron and Hermione who cared about him. From what Ron had told her, he hated his relatives, and she had already seen that his self-confidence was far too low for such an amazing person.

She soon found herself regretting her choice in delivery method though. She knew he hated attention. Why had she gone for such a public option? She looked at him, sitting on the floor, with his ears burning, and wished herself a mile away. Why had she come to Hogwarts? She could never do anything right. Just then, though –

“Wonder what Potter’s written in this?” said Malfoy. He was holding some kind of book in his hand. A diary. Harry’s diary? No. She went white. The diary was very familiar. Harry had gotten her diary? This was the worst thing that could have possibly happened.

“Expelliarmus,” Harry cried. The diary shot into the air, and Ron caught it. Now Harry had her diary back. He would find out! He would find out about her! In a daze, Ginny began to head into the classroom as the knot of people started to break up. Before she made it all the way in, however –

“I don’t think Potter liked your valentine much!” yelled Malfoy. At her. Ginny face immediately blazed bright red. Covering it with her hands she rushed into class. This day couldn’t have gone any worse.

********

Later that evening, Ginny went over her options. She _had_ to get that diary from Harry. If he wrote in it, if he found out how to work it, he would learn her secrets. Even worse, he would learn she had been the one attacking everyone. She couldn’t let that happen. Harry liked her family, but he cared about people too much not to do something about it. She would be expelled. Worse, she would go to Azkaban.

Maybe it wasn’t the same book though. She had only seen it for a second. And she had thrown it away weeks ago. Surely, if Harry had written in it, he would have said something by now, or looked at her differently. She was always hyperaware of Harry Potter – he had done no such thing. Maybe she was safe. She shouldn’t overreact. She had flushed her diary down the toilet. It wasn’t going to magically reappear. And why would Harry have gone into a girl’s bathroom anyway? She was safe.

********

As the weeks passed though, Ginny became less sure. Yes, Harry hadn’t accused her of anything, he didn’t suspect her. But she started to get the feeling, especially right after she woke, as if there were something she had forgotten, pushing for attention. She started to feel less and less sure that she was ultimately responsible for the attacks. What had her father always said? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain. Tom had always been very sure that it wasn’t her. So sure, in fact, that she was beginning to wonder if maybe he knew something she didn’t. Or worse, what if he was trying not to let her suspect him. What if he was trying to keep her attention focused outwards? What if it was his fault?

Ginny wished she could talk to someone about this. She had always had her mum, or Tom, to turn to. Now she had no one. She couldn’t tell anyone. She couldn’t even talk to anyone about her ordinary worries, about homesickness and never being good enough and _Harry_ , let alone the ones about her diary. She was so lonely. She hadn’t even been able to talk to Percy, the only one of her brothers who ever had time for her, not after she walked in on him with his girlfriend. She had told him she didn’t care, but he seemed to think she was just waiting for the right moment to tell someone. He stopped spending time with her.

Ginny was starting to worry about Harry as well. He had been moodier ever since Valentine’s Day, more sullen and a bit less talkative. And there were times when she couldn’t find him. She had looked in the library, and the common room, and on the grounds, but at those times he was nowhere to be seen. By this point, it wasn’t even about her loving him – she was worried that maybe she had been right about her diary after all. Maybe he really did have it. He hadn’t found out about her, but what if the diary actually was what was affecting her, making her attack people? What if it was starting to affect him too?

By the time Easter holidays were over, Ginny was a wreck. She missed Tom. So much. She had no one else. And on top of her loneliness, she was desperately worried about Harry, and so guilty about the attacks. She couldn’t look at Colin’s seat next to her in charms. Even if the diary had something to do with it, this was still _her_ fault. She had been so foolish as to write in it. She wondered often if she should tell someone. Could they help Harry as they didn’t her? But shame stopped her every time. If she told someone, she would have to say that it was her fault. She couldn’t do that.

A plan was starting to form in Ginny’s mind. She still wasn’t sure if the book Harry had was actually her diary at all. She just needed to see it. If it wasn’t, she had been worried for nothing. If it was… if it was, she could dispose of it better this time. Or maybe write in it for a bit first. She missed Tom so much. If she was careful, and on guard, it wouldn’t hurt to just talk with Tom a little bit, right? She needed to.

********

It was another two weeks before Ginny implemented her plan. She waited until the day before the next Quidditch match. She knew Harry had practice after dinner every day; she would have plenty of time. She barely ate anything at dinner that day. She was too nervous. After just enough time that it wouldn’t be suspicious, she left the Great Hall and raced up to Gryffindor Tower. She just needed to see it.

When she first entered the second year boys’ dorm, she wasn’t sure at first which bed was Harry’s. Then she felt it. That one there. Something was calling to her. There was something there, she felt it. She had to find it. Desperately, she searched everywhere. His cabinet, his bed, his trunk. She was making a mess, but she didn’t care. She had to find it, she had to – there. In his trunk. Her diary. It was hers. He had it all along. She couldn’t leave it with Harry.

********

Ginny lay in her four-poster a few minutes later, staring at the diary. She had to get rid of it. It was dangerous, she could feel it. In the morning though. It was too late now. She would do it tomorrow. During the Quidditch match, then no one would see her.

********

Ginny crept down the hallway. No one could see her. They would know. She had to get rid of the diary. But first. She stopped. Could one conversation with Tom hurt so much? He was her friend. She couldn’t just throw him away, not without talking to him again. She sat down behind a statue and opened the diary.

********

Ginny opened her eyes in Gryffindor Tower. The last thing she remembered was opening the diary again. What had she done? Then she heard them talking. Hermione this time. And Penelope, Percy’s girlfriend. This was all her fault. She was so weak.

But she knew why this time. It was Tom’s fault. Maybe he had never been her friend in the first place. And she had hurt more people by letting him in again.

Now she knew though. She was certain whose fault it was. She could keep him out. She couldn’t throw the diary away though. What if someone else found it? She had to keep it. She wouldn’t let Tom in again though.

********

In the weeks that followed, Ginny could feel her will starting to drain. The urge to write in the diary again got stronger every day and she was losing ground. Tom would win. She couldn’t let that happen. What could she do though? She had no one left to turn to. Except. Maybe she did.

********

Three days before exams, Professor McGonagall made the announcement. The Mandrakes were ready. The Petrified people would be revived. Ginny knew this was Tom’s last chance – and her’s. Shaking, she sat down next to Ron and Harry. She had to tell them. It was her only chance. No one else would listen – or listen without getting her in trouble.

“What’s up?” Ron asked. She had to tell them. She could do it. She could.

“Spit it out,” he said, watching her. He was her brother. She could tell him.

“I’ve got to tell you something,” she mumbled. First step down. Now she just had to keep going.

“What is it?” said Harry. She didn’t know where to start. What could she say to make them listen?

“ _What?”_ said Ron. They were getting impatient. She opened her mouth. She would tell them now. But no sound came out. She just had to tell them! She had to.

Harry leaned forward.

“Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something? Someone acting oddly?” Yes! They would believe her. She couldn’t do it. She started to speak.

“If you’ve finished eating, I’ll take that seat, Ginny. I’m starving, I’ve only just come off patrol duty.”

It was Percy. Ginny jumped up. She couldn’t tell Percy. It was her fault his girlfriend was in the Hospital Wing. And he loved the rules so much. She couldn’t make him choose between them. She fled.

********

Ginny sat on her bed, rocking back and forth and weeping silently. She had failed. She didn’t tell them. And now her time was up. She couldn’t resist anymore. Slowly, against her will, she reached for the diary. And that was it. She was gone.

********

For the first time, however, Ginny was aware of what was happening. She was walking through the corridors, headed for the first message. She watched herself raise her wand, tears still dripping down her face.

_Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever._

No! NO! Ginny fought. She railed against the magic holding her down, keeping her locked inside her own body. It was no use. Maybe if she had been strong – but Tom had had an entire year to wear her down, and she had spent the last few weeks trying to hold him off. She was so tired.

She turned and went into the girl’s bathroom. What – but then she felt her mouth forming strange noises, hissing at the sink. Was this Parseltongue? The sink sank into the floor, revealing a pipe, which she felt herself leap into. She was going to die. She would never see her parents again, never tell her brothers she loved them – never see Harry Potter’s face again.

As Ginny watched, helpless, a prisoner in her own body, she made her way in the heart of the Chamber, an open stone hall lined with pillars with a statue at one end. She placed the diary on the ground. Slowly, Ginny sank the floor, her limbs losing all their strength. As the world faded to black, she watched a tall black-haired boy climb out of the diary. She had never seen him before, but she knew who it was – Tom Riddle.

********

Slowly, Ginny faded back into consciousness. Why was she lying on the floor? She moaned. She ached all over. Then she remembered. Tom. With a jolt, she sat up. A black-haired boy stood in front of her. Tom! No, not Tom. Harry. He was carrying the diary, and a massive snake lay dead behind him. But – oh no – he was covered in blood. This was all her fault. She started to sob.

As they traveled through the Chamber, out through the rock pile, up the stone tube and to McGonagall’s office, Ginny was in shock. She was alive. Harry had saved her. But she didn’t deserve it. This was all her fault. She was going to be expelled and what would her mum and dad say?

Then the door opened. Her mum and dad were there. Ginny cried harder. She didn’t deserve their love. But she couldn’t tell them that just yet. She needed her mum first.

********

After Harry told his story, she knew it was time. He had avoided mentioning her so far, but now he had to tell them. Now they would know what she had done.

“What interests _me_ the most,” said Professor Dumbledore gently, “is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently hiding in the forests of Albania.”

What? What did You-Know-Who have to do with this? It was Tom’s fault.

“It was this diary,” said Harry. “Riddle wrote in it when he was sixteen…”

Tom was You-Know-Who? But if that were true… Mum always said that You-Know-Who was almost as powerful as Professor Dumbledore. Maybe it wasn’t completely her fault after all. Still –

“But, Ginny,” said Ginny’s Mum. “What’s our Ginny got to do with – with – _him_?” Now she had to tell them.

“His d-diary!” she sobbed. “I’ve been writing in it, and he’s been w-writing back all year –”

“ _Ginny!_ ” said her dad. “Haven’t I taught you _anything_? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself _if you can’t see where it keeps its brain_. Why didn’t you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was _clearly_ full of Dark Magic –” Ginny knew it. She had been right the first time. It was all her fault.

“I d-didn’t know,” she sobbed. “I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it –” Dumbledore interrupted her.

“Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away. This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort.” She was dazed. They weren’t going to punish her? They weren’t even going to blame her? But –

“There has been no lasting harm done, Ginny,” said Dumbledore.

As she left with her parents, Ginny couldn’t quite believe it. They weren’t going to blame her?

********

As the term finished, Ginny slowly started to believe the Headmaster. No one had blamed her. Maybe it wasn’t her fault. She thought to herself that she would probably always carry the guilt and shame of it, but now it was lessened enough that she could look past it.

And as she left the Hogwarts Express and headed for her waiting parents, she thought that maybe she could even start to be happy again.


End file.
